2023 Estelline Trip

[Shakey Jake]

I'd love to have a high in the upper 80's. I'd be out on a long ride with the Harley!
Jake

[JEBar]

its already up to 73 degrees and my well reach 90 later on today .... realizing that 90 ain't near as hot as its been in much of the country, that's pretty hot for where we are in east central South Dakota .... our time out here is passing all tooooo quickly .... noting much on tap for today

[JEBar]

another beautiful day has dawned in east central SD .... 66 when we woke up, already up to 75 on its way to 88 later this afternoon .... the following weather related warning >>> "Breezy with clouds and sun; a gusty thunderstorm this afternoon; thunderstorms can bring hail and damaging winds" .... as it has been so far this spring/summer, local farmers would most certainly welcome the rain but not so much for the other thunderstorm components .... first chore this morning was to change our October reservation to attend a high school reunion in Myrtle Beach ... looking forward to this trip, it will be our first driving Maureen's new Blazer

[JEBar]

well, the furnace is clearly at work in our atmosphere ... 74 (feeling like 84) as this is being typed .... today's projected high 98 (feeling like 104) .... other parts of the country are experiencing higher temps but for where we are in east central SD, today will be an unusually hot .... we really missed having thunderstorms last night ..... steady lightening could be seen south of us the air outside the camper was oppressively hot and heavy .... I doubt we will spend much time outside today .... no chance of rain mentioned for today .... no doubt the town pool will be packed today .... they are calling for only 4 degrees cooler tomorrow but afternoon and evening thunderstorms are once again being mentioned ....

[Hatchdog]

Saw Eastern South Dakota on the heat map this morning bright red. Thought about you guys sitting there in the heat. Stay cool.

[JEBar]

Thought about you guys sitting there in the heat. Stay cool.

concern appreciated .... we most certainly are going to try and do so

[Shakey Jake]

I guess it's getting hot about everywhere now!
Jake

[JEBar]

well, they were correct that today would be a hot one but (thankfully) our high has been 94 .... one of my wife's nephews played a doubleheader in Legion baseball tournament three + hours west of here in Chamberlin where it reached 101 .... by the way, his team won the first game 4 - 2 and the second 13 - 1

[JEBar]

another hot one on tap .... 77 now on its way to 95 (RealFeel® 102°) .... lightening started flashing in the south about midnight and hung around until some time after 4AM .... never did hear much in the way of thunder .... sometime during the night we did get some rain .... first up this morning, taking Maureen's pup to the vet for a Rabies shot .... this is her last scheduled visit with a Vet out here .... her next scheduled visit comes a few days after we get home when she will be spade ....

[JEBar]

well temperatures of our two day heat wave are receding ..... 69 earlier this morning -- 72 right now -- 86 projected high later today ....second night in a row with heavy lightening around midnight, some close thunder, some light rain -- in short a nonissue for our area in east central SD .... once again "a gusty t-storm this afternoon; thunderstorms could bring damaging winds, flash flooding and hail" warning is in today's forecast .... this afternoon we plan to drive over to Bruce, SD to watch a niece compete in a 3 on 3 basketball tournament .... Bruce is the home of Sioux Bee Honey

[Shakey Jake]

We had another mild morning at 75°. It's supposed to get up around 98° and, hopefully, the last day of the Saharan dust that's tormented us for a bit over a week now. There's still no rain in the two-week forecast. As I posted earlier, we either have lots of rain or none at all.
Jake

[JEBar]

65 right now on its way to 79 later today .... no rain mentioned .... in short, looks like we are back to the very nice weather that is typical for this area of east central SD .... our daughter is in the process of buying a replacement camper .... I'm helping by phone and computer .... she's working with a lady I trained over 20 years ago .... she's the only person left in the industry that I trust enough to work with without me being there

[JEBar]

72 and partly cloudy at 11AM -- rain predicted from Noon through 2PM -- that complicates a family reunion picnic being held in the park behind our camper starting at noon .. .. the first family members just arrived, looks like its gonna be interesting ..

[Shakey Jake]

I hope your reunion got off without a hitch. I'm sure a good time was had by all regardless of weather.
Jake

[JEBar]

the weather turned out perfect .... the storm passed west of us, all we got was some clouds and a bit of wind .... of the 42 family members of Maureen's family attending the reunion, I know less than 10

[JEBar]

its already up to 70 under a beautifully clear Jackrabit's blue sky .... its supposed to get up to 84 later today .... no rain mentioned in the forecast until Friday .... yesterday's family reunion went well, 40 some people attended .... the Frogmore Stew that has become a family tradition, is scheduled for this coming Sunday .... pictures below from one a few years back .... we plan to get serious in our preparations on Friday .... no clue how many will be here, should know more as this week goes on

[dave77]

We have a yearly reunion of my father's side relatives but it's slowly petering out. Last couple have had less than 10 people show up. When my cousin (in her 70's) who organizes them is no longer around they will probably end, maybe even sooner.

When my mom passed her side of family reunions stopped. All my uncles and aunts are long gone and my brother and nephew have moved to Texas so won't be seeing much of them, long way from WA and I'm not much of a traveler.

Was just talking to a friend about how extended family relations have changed. Both my mom and dad came from large old time farming families (early 1900's) so when I was kid I had over 10 uncles and aunts living close by. Most Sunday's we had big family dinners and there were usually at least a couple of birthday parties every month.

[dave77]

BTW, that Frogmore Stew looks delicious, I had never heard of it before.

Being Scandinavian on my mom's side the only traditional food we had was lefse, which I liked and ludefisk, which I along with most of my cousins never tried. My Uncles loved it.

[JEBar]

We have a yearly reunion of my father's side relatives but it's slowly petering out.

that's pretty much the same in my family .... one side or the other will have a reunion every few years .... I haven't been to one in many, many years ..... time is changing the nature of reunions in Maureen's family as well .... the ebb and flow ranging from being well attended to almost nobody .... Maureen is one of 7 children .... 6 still living, one was a victim of Agent Orange ..... our Frogmore is for those families

[dave77]

Maureen is one of 7 children .... 6 still living, one was a victim of Agent Orange ..... our Frogmore is for those families

Is your wife still close to her siblings? I only have one brother and he's 13 years older than me so while we were somewhat close by the time I was starting grade school he was heading off to college. Before my dad passed (I was only in junior high) and after he graduated and got married we did go over to his place in Seattle quite often and they would sometimes go on our yearly vacations with us. They usually involved driving back to North Dakota (no AC in cars back then) to see my mom's relatives with lots of sightseeing on the way and finding a motel in the evening.